A Week in a Creative Agency

We’ve had two bright and inquisitive work experience girls in the office this week, learning all things Idenna and the ins and outs of a bustling creative agency. Here’s a little glimpse into their week, what they learned and what they got up to…

What is Idenna?

Leonie: Idenna is a creative agency that work with other companies to maximise their business potential. For example, if a company needs some help with social media, Idenna would come up with a schedule for every month and post them.

Daisy: Idenna is an agency that helps other companies with copywriting, graphic design, web design, photography and cinematography. To give an example, this week I wrote a blog about the do’s and don’ts of summer fitness for a local gym.

What we did:

Leonie: On the first day, after being welcomed and introduced to everyone, I was given the task to create a social schedule for an award-winning holiday resort for August. Before I started, I was given an example of July’s schedule to work from and their website to get ideas. After I researched more about their business, I started filling in the boxes, but I found coming up with captions hard because I couldn’t repeat myself and had to involve the company. Once I finished that, I started writing a blog for the same business about “things to do at the beach”. I had many ideas and started constructing the blog. When I was done I printed it off, where it was then read by James (Creative Director) who then gave me feedback on it. I then went back, made the edits suggested and refined the finished piece.

On the second day, I had to start writing a blog for a local coastal pub, about the “Top 8 beach walks in Cornwall.” Before I did anything I read one of the company’s previous blogs to understand the style they wrote in. Struggling to explain the walks, I had to use the internet for inspiration. In the afternoon, we went out on a film shoot where we helped film a ‘mascot swap’ film for two of Idenna’s clients. It was interesting to observe how Idenna filmed, the different ideas they had and the different style of shots taken.

On the third day, we started off with a team meeting where we observed what the staff spoke about. Each person had to say what was going well and what was more challenging. From watching this, I could see that they are all supportive towards each other. After the meeting, I finished off my blog for the coastal pub. Once I had finished that, we shadowed filmmaker Sam, where he showed and explained to us the editing process of the mascot swap footage from the previous day. I liked watching this because it gave me an idea on how to edit videos. In the afternoon, we had to go through the Idenna website and come up with 10 things we thought could be improved – but we only found eight.

On the fourth day, I went to a prestigious hotel and golf club with a another filmmaker Simon to film and take photos. We started in the gym where he explained the different lenses of the camera and why he used them. He filmed someone working out and the person in charge on the gym. After that, Simon needed the person who works in the gym to talk. He explained what equipment he used and why. I got to put on the headphones and had to make sure the sound levels weren’t too loud. When we were packing up to move locations, I learnt how to put the tripod down. We then went on the golf cars to the golfing fields, where videos and photos were taken of someone playing golf. We then went back to the hotel to shoot some footage where I got to use the camera. After Simon had all the footage he needed, we headed back to Idenna. When I got back James, gave Daisy and I a description of what Idenna does and why, and the process the company uses to do something; who, what, why. We were given examples and talked through it, before finding adverts and applying the ‘who, what, why’ to them. Once we did that, I went to watch the film that Simon had created with the footage taken previously that day. He then explained the different parts to his edit, continued editing more footage shot that day and talked me through all the steps and explained the sound process.

Then finally, on Friday we wrote this blog.

Daisy: On the first day, I was given a tour of the office and a safety briefing by Tim (Managing Director). I also met the lovely Idenna team. My first task was for me to write a blog for a holiday resort and gym, explaining the Do’s and Don’ts of Summer fitness.

On the second day, I was given the task of writing a social schedule for a privately-owned beach and restaurant, creating posts for both Twitter and Facebook. In the afternoon, we were given the opportunity to go on a film shoot for two Idenna clients. The filming was for a social media advert where the mascots had day out at each other’s parks.

On day three, we shadowed Sam editing the footage shot the day before. We also attended a team meeting, where they all discussed their successes and more challenging projects of the week so far. In the afternoon, me and Leonie were asked by James to search the Idenna website for any mistakes of improvements they could have made on their website. We picked up on a typo, a page not working and members of the team missing from meet the team.

On Day four, in the first part of the morning I continued creating content for the beach’s social schedule. However, later on in the morning I went on a photoshoot with photographer Clare. The photoshoot was held in a school, where Year 10s were given a taster day for the specialised sixth form. This included a tour, a chemistry lesson and a maths lesson. Clare explained what the different lenses of a camera are used for, like the longer ones are for far away shots. We then began the shoot, in which Clare took photographs of the students on the tour and them interacting with the teachers. In the afternoon, Myself and Leonie were given a task by James to look up adverts and decipher the who, what and why of them (such as the John Lewis Christmas advert, aiming their adverts towards middle-aged women with children to buy and presents and make them feel nostalgic).

Finally, Friday’s task was to complete this blog and publish it on the same day.

What we enjoyed

Leonie: I really enjoyed going out and the filming and photography because it was so interesting to watch and to actually film. I also learnt a lot from it; I now know more about cameras, frames, lenses, etc. and it has given me an idea on what I want to do in the future.

Daisy: I enjoyed learning how to write a blog and also going to photo and filming shoots. It was fascinating to find out what Idenna does and how they do it.

What we’ve learnt from this experience:

Leonie: Throughout this experience at Idenna, I have learnt how to create a social schedule and how to write a blog. Filming-wise, I’ve learnt how to film and take photos and then go on to edit them. I learnt about how to use a camera, like what lenses to use, when to use them and why.

Daisy: From this experience, I have learnt to feel more confident about talking to new people and I have a better understanding of my strengths and weaknesses. I know how to choose which sense to use for which shot, know more about the job I want and a lot about this particular job.

If you’re interested in gaining work experience in the creative world, get in touch with jane@idenna.com